of audio work. What I'm proposing is basically to do what I would traditionally do in a home studio
and what I have been doing in the additional bedroom in our apartment, but just do it in
this downstairs commercial uh space that's below my apartment um i think it's appropriate for the
neighborhood because it will be very quiet it will be the types of thing that many people do
at home um and i've spoken to my immediate neighbors through the walls um we're all on
the same page and the basic approach will be to just figure out what volume of work that i do
that they're able to hear and then stay below that.
So I think it will have little to no impact
on the surrounding community
and being almost entirely a personal workspace
or maybe having one or two people there
to work with me at a time
will have very little sidewalk impact or anything else.
As well, as Jed mentioned,
the reason I was excited to find this space in particular
is because of its unique arrangement.
with the immediate neighbors
in that there are these air gaps between any shared wall
any shared wall and then my apartment is above so there are no shared walls with any neighbor
and then my apartment is above.
So there are no shared walls within.
uh which is a big deal in in a city for doing this type of work so it it seemed like an ideal
location to be doing it and having been doing the work in my apartment and having no complaints
i feel confident that um i'll have no issues great i appreciate all of that um and and all
the surrounding neighbors do have your contact information at this point as well as mine to
reach out if there was any potential issue correct yes great and i'll just ask and you've
been doing this work for a while right this is not something new for you you're yeah very long time
yeah okay questions from the board no mr chairman no no mr chairman questions from the virtual
audience. Chair, we have Patricia Wilson. Please allow her to speak. This is Patricia Wilson,
2302 Parish Street. She can name and spell it for the record. Patricia Wilson, P-A-T-R-I-C-I-A,
Wilson, W-I-L-S-O-N, from 2302-2302 Parish Street, which is right up the street and across the street,
right across from Bache Martin. You know, I'm going to tell the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth. I do. My first, I am going to make a statement here, which is as, as by
virtue of asking for a use variance, I have not heard any testimony that would indicate that there
is a hardship here. And I would say that prior, the prior business that was there, and even the
dry cleaner that has been spoken about were both businesses that were complimentary to the
neighborhood. Though I understand that Mr. Hensler has reached out to the various neighbors,
what I haven't heard and I would ask testimony for is that this does not benefit this neighborhood.
This is turning this space into commercial office space for a personal use. Most of the other
commercial spaces in the neighborhood have become residential. Those that are commercial
are complementary to the neighborhood and also provide services to the neighborhood,
whether they be coffee shops, whether it be the Lumos yoga studio. So what this gentleman is
asking for, you know, certainly by law, he has not exhibited or indicated or testimony to any
hardship here that would allow for the granting of the variance. I would argue that this will,
in fact change the character of the neighborhood. So even though this is a temporary use, I would
not want to, in this wonderful residential neighborhood, get on the slippery slope of
a commercial use. Certainly, if this board proposes to grant this temporary use, I would
indicate that it is not in the public interest. It will, in fact, change the character of the
neighborhood. And that in this case, though he may be a wonderful gentleman, what I haven't heard
is testimony that absolutely will restrict the number of users that is going to be Mr. Hensler
that now I'm hearing, well, it's Mr. Hensler and maybe a couple people that he's bringing in with
him, that should this board go so far as to grant this use, despite the fact there is no hardship
here, this use variance, that they would put significant restrictions on the hours of operation,
significant restrictions on the number of clients and or employees, because, you know, I hope you
recognize this is not in the public interest, regardless of support based on the particular
individual. I would go further as to also say, should you also determine to provide for a
temporary use? Doesn't need to be three years despite his lease. It could be one year and be
revisited so that, in fact, everything that's been testified to here proves to be true. Again,
you know, incredible residential neighborhood up the street from a school. Businesses that have
opened in the commercial spots and or have remained there are absolutely conducive to
and are complementary to the neighborhood. This is basically turning a residential use
into a commercial office space. Thank you. Thank you. Ma'am, did you attend a community meeting?
I did not. I did not get the notice until afterwards and, you know, just said, okay,
you know, just said, okay, I'm going to register as a party protestant here. And I'm, you know,
I'm going to register as a party protestant here.
going to give testimony so that in fact, the board can hear how a neighbor feels.
Okay. I have a couple of questions for, I'm sorry, what was your name again, Patricia?
Patricia Wilson.
Okay, Patricia, this has been, you acknowledge that this has been a commercial space before,
correct? I understand that, but it has been commercial with complementary use for neighbors.
Okay, and you do understand that any commercial use of this space would require a zoning variance
as it is only zoned for single-family use currently, correct? I understand that, and certainly in this
neighborhood, many of the commercial uses in this neighborhood or many of these corner properties
have become residential because it is a neighborhood in high demand. Great, so I just
want to say as a hardship here this building is only zoned for single family use but is designed
with a commercial space on the first floor and has been in existence for over well we're approaching
over 60 years we're approaching 70 years here so any use that isn't any use here even if it was
converted to another residential unit would require a zoning variance so the hardship is
basically to this dimension of this old building and long-standing commercial use. This is not a
suitable single-family home at this point. And I would disagree with you because the legal
definition of what a hardship is goes along with the property. Many of the properties in Philadelphia,
including in this area, have gone from multi-use to single-use. So I would disagree with you. A
Residential use is more appropriate here, and a legal definition of hardship is with the property, not a use at the property.
It is a unique characteristic of the property.
I have an additional question.
Were you a neighbor in 2019 when the fitness studio and the apartments above were approved, and did you object to that?
No, because that is a complimentary use utilized by those in the neighborhood, including my daughter. And as you've seen down the street, the yoga studio that has opened, when you put a complimentary residential use there, it's a little easier to say, okay, if we're going to agree, despite the fact there is no legal definition of hardship here, then okay, it helps the neighborhood.
This is a partial use that helps an individual tenant.
So, Ms. Wilson, so you're a no on supporting this project?
I am a no on supporting this project.
Okay, thank you.
It's duly noted.
Anybody else out there in the virtual audience?
I see no hands, Chair.
Planning Commission.
This is Ron Bednar, City Planning.
The property is indicated for residential use.
The city plan or adopted district plan recommends no change to the existing residential-only zoning at this location.
The applicant's hardship is not supported with evidence of unique physical circumstances or condition of the property and will prevent it from being used in conformity with the code.
Therefore, we recommend the request for variance not be granted.
MI-2022-005422, 2315 Parish Street, I vote yes, with proviso, temporary variance for
two years, ending on 3-1-20-25.
Thomas Holliman? Thomas Holliman? My vote is yes with Proviso.
James Snell? My vote is yes with Proviso. Thank you. Congratulations. Move on to the next case.
Number 7, MI-2022-005411, 8301 Rising Sun Avenue.
Matthew Lilly, the attorney.
He's coming back in as a panelist.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
Matthew Liley, M-A-T-T-H-E-W-L-E-I-L-I.
you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do
uh can you please give us the connection to you in relation to your client yes i represent
christine roberts and pamela scott who are the property owners of 8301 rising sun avenue and
the applicant uh board member thomas holliman has a few questions to ask good afternoon council
good afternoon counsel do you have do you agree to waive the reading of the
So do you have, do you agree to waive the
refusal and stipulate to his accuracy i do did you email all the exhibits and
documents as required five days in advance to this hearing did
you meet with the rco and do you have an rco letter
yes thank you please proceed and share your screen
thank you
okay good afternoon as i stated i represent um christine roberts and pamela scott who own
the house at 8301 rising sun they live there i submitted to the board the exhibits that you see
the real estate tax balance the notice of refusal and the rest i will go through
um this application is to legalize construction that was done in 2009 um the contractor that my
clients hired was supposed to obtain the proper permits and failed to do so and so we are here
today um for you is the tax clearance as i stated um the refusal um this is an rsd2 district it's a
single family well actually it's a duplex but it has a previous variance for a duplex use
in a single family detached district the refusal generated is for not having enough front yard
depth i'll go through the site plans to demonstrate it further but the zoning code requires a front
yard depth of 35 feet this is a corner lot and so there's only a front yard depth of 18 feet
along rising sun avenue and 19.77 feet along hoffnagle place
we did meet with the fox chase homeowners association
it was overwhelmingly the neighbors were overwhelmingly in support of the project
a poll was taken 23 were in support of the variance
um there is a standing standing bylaw of the rco not to support variances that are to legalize
existing construction and so their official stance is no position on the matter
however they did indicate again there were 10 affected neighbors who were in support 23 members
who were in support of the variant so no one in attendance that night was actually opposed to the
variance. In addition to that support, my clients circulated a petition among their neighbors
and they did receive the support of several of the very close neighbors
on Hofnick Place and Rising Sun Avenue. Okay, so just for a frame of reference,
this property is in Fox Chase. It's a suburban-style neighborhood, mostly single-family
detached in the immediate surroundings, although there is multi-family apartments that I'll show
you pictures of on Hofnagel Place. You can see from the zoning site plan here exactly what's
been added onto the property and what was existing. The existing house is demonstrated by
uh the unhatched area on the site plan um we see here a first floor addition that was put
on the hofnagle place frontage and a small foyer that was added on the rising sun avenue frontage
um on rising sun avenue this comes out six feet from where the previous house line was
so in essence the property when it was built it of course was built to the zoning code as it
existed then but it has since changed and so the property line despite only being six feet
in front of the property line it is generating a refusal that it's 19 feet
from the street or from the property line um on the hofnagle place side uh this is the addition
that was made on the first floor with the single hatch mark and there was a second floor addition
made with a double hatch mark that you can see there and it might be a little clearer if i go
through the um the floor plans again this is the foyer that was added on um on the rising sun
avenue side and that is forward six feet from where the property was before
And on the Hofnagel Place side, we see this portion was added to the side, and it's no closer to the street or to the property line than what existed previously.
and on the hofnagel place side we see
And a second floor addition was also made, again, no closer to the street or the property line than what existed previously.
um there's also elevations that are included in the in the exhibits just to show you pictures
of the property this is a picture of from rising sun avenue it's again a detached style home
suburban surroundings it's very well constructed with high quality materials this foyer that you
see in the front was added in the construction in 2009 which is being sought to be legalized
again you can see the foyer there that extends six feet from the property from the original property
you can see here this picture taken from hofnagel place this portion this side here is what was
added onto the property. And you can see what was added on is actually recessed a bit, a few feet
from where the original structure was. And so on Hofnagel Place, that doesn't encroach into the
front yard any more than what already existed. Just some further pictures of the construction
that was done. And you can see in this picture there's actually a detached garage structure that
again is a pre-existing non-conforming use that is closer to the street in the front yard line
than anything that has been added on to. Some pictures of the surrounding neighborhood show
that the house is in conformity with its surroundings. This is the multifamily housing
that exists on Hofnagel Place, which is at the cul-de-sac at the end of or adjacent to the
property. Like I said, this construction was done in 2009. It hasn't presented any burden to the
community. It hasn't increased congestion. It hasn't burdened public utilities. And a unique
aspect about the property that leads to the hardship is, of course, the corner property
requiring that there be a 35-foot setback on each side, resulting in this box, which shows the
allowable built building area excuse me um and we you can see that the property line is actually
set back from the street line the curb line by about 20 feet on hofnagle place and by 14 feet
on rising sun avenue so that's an additional space from the street so on the rising sun avenue side
there's 18 feet to the property line but there's 14 additional feet to rising sun avenue so that's
32 feet to the curb line. And then on Hofnagel Place, again, there's a 20-foot right-of-way
in addition to the almost 20 feet front yard depth, which results in almost 40 feet to the
curb line at Hofnagel Place. As I stated, my clients relied on their contractor to obtain
the proper zoning permits and they failed to do so.
And with that, I will ask my client to Christine Roberts,
if you can raise your hand.
Ms. Roberts, please unmute yourself.
Hello.
Hello, Ms. Roberts, please state your name
and spell it for the record.
Sure. It's Christine, C-H-R-I-S-T-I-N-E. Last name is Roberts, R-O-B-E-R-T-S.
And my wife, and my wife.
You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Yes, I do. Thank you.
Did you say something? You said your wife is with you?
Yes, and she's on my date also.
Do I need to swear her in if she's going to talk?
No, Christine can affirm the testimony.
I have no other questions.